Christmas Preparations

Gifts have been bought, and for the most part, are also now wrapped. And since we got our tree last week, the gifts now have a place for display! Sam has been pretty good about NOT touching the tree. The needles prick and tickle him, so the tree's defenses are functional so far. He learned to say "Christmas lights" and "Christmas tree". The "lights" and "tree" are pronounced quite clearly... "Christmas", on the other hand, sounds like "Crimmis", which makes me smile and giggle. He's so proud when he learns a new word, and especially when grown-ups understand what he means.

I am sooooo in the Christmas mood. Every year, my place of employment pipes in holiday tunes starting the week of Thanksgiving, and by the first week of December, I declare that I never want to hear Christmas music again. This year is different: I revel in the holiday music. I even listen to it at home, in the car, and at work (though I have no choice while at work). I found myself humming The Little Drummer Boy in the shower a few days ago.... I suppose I could contribute this Christmas Spirit to the fact that Sam is really starting to understand about holidays and remember events. It's like I've been transported mentally back to my childhood, and get to experience Christmas in that giddy, little kid sort of way again. Michael initially saw me as a weirdo; but then he caught it, too. We were at Target last week, and we were excited to pick up candy canes and hang them on the tree. BOTH OF US! It was a great feeling, and all over candy canes!

Sam's got a cold again. A nasty one with a lot of chest congestion. He coughs in the middle of the night and it sounds awful. I go in to check on him, and it didn't even wake him up! The first couple of nights, he couldn't sleep, so I sat with him on the sofa..... He ended up sleeping just fine, and Momma was a zombie.

AND, baking is in full swing. Cookies, cookies, cookies. A few batches have already been made and some have already been shipped to dear friends and family. I have a full five days left to complete everything.... I have also taken a few orders from co-workers for holiday baked goodies. Our apartment smells so yummy: cinnamon, sugar, chocolate, coffee, and coconut aromas fill our little place. A few neighbors have commented that the hallways in the building smell so wonderful.... Apparently we are the only ones who really cook or bake. I'm making little tins of cookies for our neighbors, as well. Spread Christmas cheer, you know.

To you all who read this, have a Merry Christmas, with friends and family, and some peaceful time to reflect on what the holiday truly means for mankind.

Halloween

Okay, it's fall, and Halloween is fast approaching. Not that we celebrate Halloween. I mean, we eat candy corns and the candy-cornified pumpkins, and all the other candy goodies. But we don't decorate the house, dress up, or go trick-or-treating. To us, its just not a "real" holiday. Perhaps we are sticks-in-the mud, but it's one of those Just-for-Fun holidays, like National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Anyhow, I do have pretty good memories of Halloween and Trick-or-treating from when I was a kid, and in the spirit of Halloween-ness, I'd like to share some of my favorite Halloween fun-times of today (or the last few years). All thanks to one of the coolest guys around: odd tOdd! Check 'em out!

Odd Todd's Halloween Special 1 Odd Todd's Halloween Special 2 Odd Todd's Halloween Special 3 Odd Todd's Halloween Special 5 (version1) Odd Todd's Halloween Special 5 (version2)

Baby!

Well, a great big congrats is in order for Stephanie and Brian! Evelyn was born this afternoon at 1:55, a whopping 7lbs 13oz, 21 1/2 inches long, with a luscious, full head of dark hair! I visited for a short while this evening, and am in love!

Since Mike has our camera in Australia, I cannot take any pictures of my own, but as soon as Andrea or my mom e-mails me copies of theirs, I can forward them to you, if you wish. Just let me know!!!!

That's all for now. I have a heap of laundry with my name on it, so I'd better get started! WOOOO-HOOOOO! BABY!

Bad, bad me.

Yes, it's been over two months since I've made a current post. I have no real excuse, either (as usual). I've been knitting a baby blanket for my soon-to-arrive-however-late niece. You'll all be pleased to know I've finished knitting, laundering, and gift wrapping said blanket. Now I'm just waiting for the little darling to be evicted from her nice, quiet, warm apartment so I may give her the gift. Any day now. She was due 5 September... My sister will be induced tomorrow night, so I'll be an auntie 3times over by Monday for sure. GOOD LUCK STEPH AND BRIAN!!!!

What else has been keeping me so darned busy? Hmm, work, cleaning and various other domestic things, and getting Michael ready to travel. Kinda last minutely he found he would be going to Australia for a couple weeks, sans moi, and we had to get things squared away before he left. Also, cleaning out my MySpace page, enrolling on Bebo (if you Bebo, let me know so I can add you), and figuring out Facebook. Facebook seems to be my fav place to keep in touch; it's so much easier in my opinion. Anyway, if you find me on Facebook, I'm almost always there. And Skype... that's how Mike and I will keep in touch while he's gone. Talking overseas for free. Want more info on Skype, just ask me! You can find me there, too.

All is well on the homefront, though. Baking like mad. In one day, I made brownies, blueberry-banana nut bread, and buttermilk biscuits. After work that same night, I made chocolate chip cookies. My oven was cranking out the goods, despite the 100 degree weather outside. I'm ready for fall and winter, my friends! The other day I made peanut butter cookies, too. OH YUM-A-LICIOUS!!!!

Well, I must cut this blog short....my laptop battery is almost down to nothing.

Cool Videos I Like (but you may not enjoy so much)

Okay, so I've not blogged in like, a month. It's been busy-ish here at the Schaefer house. Nothing in particular, just general stuff. But anyhow, a brief update:
Sam's verbal skills are growing! He recognizes most of the letters of the alphabet, and his numbers 1-10. We're working on colors, but he's a quick learner. I swore I heard "SH!T" and the infamous "F" word, so he's also very observant while I 'm driving and nearly getting hit by a massive truck (a la an incident a few weeks ago). Mike and I have to really watch what we say even in those scary "life and death" moments. Eeek and yikes!
I've also been knitting like a mad woman on a blanket for my newest niece, Evelyn, who is scheduled to make her big debut in early September. It is very difficult to knit a blanket in summer, knowing full well that it is 90+ degrees outside while I'm sitting with a blanket on my lap (even if I am inside in the AC). It's a mental thing, and I'm getting over it.
Okay, so for a few videos I've been watching lately. Some of you may be offended (not really). If you've been to the Onion's website, you might have seen these.


Tired Of Traffic? A New DOT Report Urges Drivers: 'Honk'


Report: 70 Percent Of All Praise Sarcastic





So, yes, I've been doing a lot of silly surfing....I hope you enjoyed these...

Lovin' Moz

So, I finally got to see my second Morrissey concert. I bought the tix months ago, and realized a few weeks ago that I had not one person to go with. What, you may ask, is a married woman doing without a date to a concert? Well, Mike isn't a Morrissey fan, and I thought for sure I could find someone to go with me. HA! Was I mistaken...

For many and various circumstances, I couldn't find an accomplice, so I tried selling the tickets myself, and Mike tried at his job. We got one of two responses: "Morrissey? Who's that?" or "Morrissey? Me at a Morrissey show?! NO way (cue stinging, hurtful laughter)." Last week I even tried giving them away, with no success. Mike felt bad, so he decided to go, since he knew I was so looking forward to seeing this show.

And it was great!!!!!! Mike's parents watched Sam for the evening, and had a fun time. This show was better than his last visit to StL, many old favs, new gems, and more old favs! And he took his shirt off no less than three times! *swoon*

I even fell into form and bought a tour t-shirt...and had a few vodka tonics. It was the best night out I've had in a long time. There were a few people I was expecting to see there; notice I didn't say 'hoping to see'. I looked around and saw no one familiar to me but Michael and Moz. Two men I find most sexy and handsome on the planet in the same building at the same time! WOOO HOOOO! So awesome!!!

And today, back to my established routine. More specifically now, Sam's bath time. I've been revisiting my Smiths and Morrissey collection today, and Sam seems to enjoy my singing, even if it is way off key. So now, we go to listen to "Bona Drag" at the end of our evening. Good night.

Lonely...with Rice Krispie Treats

Okay, so I've been alone in the house now for nearly six hours, and starting to feel lonely. I mean, not really, cos Sam is here. But Michael and I haven't been away from one another for more than 8-12 hours a a time since we started living together. I have four and a half days to get through!!!! He's in Chicago for a International Retrosession Reinsurance Conference, hob-nobbing with people from his company's overseas and interational offices (i.e. Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, UK, Canada). And in a very nice hotel on Lakeshore Drive!

I'm feeling pathetic, though, because many married couples are separated for far longer; like military families...they may not even know if or when their spouse will come back home. And so here I am, worried over four days. I should get over it and just relax, I know.

Anyhow, I had this tremendous craving for Rice Krispie treats, so I made a batch. I can't stand the store-bought kind, and they aren't hard to make at all. Sam and I are going to watch ARISTOCATS tonight and have popcorn and Rice Krispie treats with chocolate milk to wash it all down. Somehow, I'm very excited that we have plans, especially since this is my favorite Disney movie ever. Yeah, laugh it up....how many of you have seen it? I can't explain why, but I love it. Maybe its the fact that the motivation behind the whole plot is a rich old woman puts in her wil that her cats are to inherit her fortune and the butler is offended since he's devoted his life's service to her and gets nothing. I dunno....

Okay, it's almost movie time, so I've gotta go. Happy Springtime, little bunnies!

Laundry or Toys? Laundry or Toys? TOYS! Duh.....

Just a brief update, since I am super-duper busy this week...

Sam turned the big 2 on uh, Twos-day, I mean, Tuesday. It was a blast. I sang Happy Birthday to him throughout the day, and after the first couple times, he thought it was hilarious. I baked him a cake, made the icing and decorated it all on my own. I'm getting better with my cake decorating, too. Mixing the colors, writing, making fun borders, and all the rest. It WAS quite exciting for me (the geek such that I am). I made a great roast beef dinner, too.

After dinner and before cake, Sam opened his gifts. It took him a while, but nearly every gift got a "WOW!" or "WHOOOOOAAAA!" after it was unwrapped, Mike got great pictures, too. Hopefully soon I will post them for you all to see.

Sam did a great job blowing out his candles....he wanted very little to do with his cake other than lick off the icing; go figure! He DID enjoy the ice cream, though.

At work, I am training again. We have such a high turn-over. I'd say 50% of new hires don't make it for one reason or another beyond their probationary period. And of the 50% that does make it, 2/3 of THEM leave before their one year mark. Quite discouraging, but such is the grocery business.

And speaking of work, this coming Sunday marks my ninth anniversary at Shop nSave. It's funny, I took the job to pay off my car and to get going in college. Paid off car one, traded in and bought car two. Blah, blah, blah, and I'm still there nine years on. It's not too bad, but I don't see this as a real "career" type job. Circumstance has me tied in for a while until I am freed up to pursue the rest of my education. But most of you know this already. Blah!

And to further the adventure of my week, I am off to conquer the mountian of laundry in the next room. Or at least make a small dent in it. After all, Sam and I have a slew of new toys and birthday stuff to investigate. I think laundry can wait a little while, in light of such investigations! ;-)

Sigh of Relief

Let me say that I am ENTIRELY relieved that the true father of the late Anna Nicole's baby has been scientifically determined. I have been so exhausted from daily TV-watching to see if the results were in.... I have a divot in my thumb from channel surfing where the divot from my Nintendo thumb used to be!

HA! If you believed any of that you deserve to be fooled! And for those of my friends, I apologize for the momentary drop in the level of respect you have for me. But seriously, I AM glad its over cos maybe now people will shut up about it. It made the BBC World news, for crying out loud. Is that really news?! NO! Grrrr!

Anyway, my cousin gave birth to her second child on Friday 06 April. The new one's name is Emily Myong, and mom and baby are doing well! And in other family baby news, my sister Stephanie found out that she is having a girl (and found out on her birhtday, no less!) What a birthday gift, huh?

Well, just thought I'd get back into the Blogging habit. That's all for now!

Back from Hiatus

Okay, so a month and a half after my last post, I finally get to PROVE to you all that I'm not dead! HA! So there!

Anyway, HP sent us the wrong power supply replacement for our laptop, and the battery only lasts so long, hence I've been internet-less. *sniff* Oh, the sheer torture of not checking out Odd Todd's 80's video of the day! But this morning, a very nice UPS man brought us the CORRECT part we need, and PRESTO! I'm back!

So, March has been busy. For my birthday, Mike took me to Maggiano's Little Italy for dinner. Awesome, all around! Well, it started off great, in the bar, where I started with an Absolut Pears and tonic. YUM. And the food was excellent: HUGE PORTIONS! We took over half of our entrees home and had left-overs for almost 3 days! Still, no complaints. Thank-you, mom, for watching Sam for us. It IS nice to get out and about without the little one, though we love him dearly.

Michael, for his birthday the following week, he requested a home-cooked meal (a la beef stew and from-scratch biscuits), which I was happy to oblige.

Most imporantly, I paid off my car!!!!!! And just last weekend I received the title in the mail! I actually own something! And I must say it is a good feeling to not make a car payment. PHEW!

So what have I been up to otherwise? Sam has discovered Curious George and Thomas the Tank Engine,and loves them. When he feels confident enough to point out and say "George", it comes out sounding like, " Zyoz", and with Thomas ( and any other train) he likes to say, " chooooooo-choo". And that turns into a game of him fake sneezing, holding his one hand under his nose, throwing his head back and bowing forward with a cute "AAAAAAAH-chooo!" This may go on for a few minutes up to nearly half an hour. When you find material that's funny, stick with it, right?

And keeping Sam from climbing up the kitchen cabinets to get ON the countertops..... The terrible twos are terrible for a reason: I have near-heart attack every day cos of my little daredevil, and NO is the most rotten word a two year old could ever hear (aside from his own short-lived screaming fit upon hearing "NO"). Ugh; I thank God it is only a phase.

And cooking. It's like a mini-vacation for me. I've been just making things up, whatever sounds good. Luckily I've had good results :-) And apple pie, well, apple turnovers. I found a simple recipe for them one night at work, and made them the next morning to go with breakfast. YUMMMMMMMMMY!

And the usual house-keeping stuff.... Busy little me. Anyhow, it is later than I am used to, so I'm signing off. But hopefully not for too long ;-0

Valentine's Day

Um, yeah... So it's Valentine's Day again. And I say the same thing year after year to the schmuk's running around like mad buying flowers, chocolates and cards : why wait for Valentine's Day? There are 364 other days in the year to show your love (or lust, if that's all you can pathetically care for). Okay, so I say it to myself, not aloud. But I wish I could've shouted it to the guy last night arguing with me over how unwell his bouquet looked. He was in a terrible hurry to buy a premade, grocery store bouquet that was obviously past its prime.... NOT MY FAULT! Ya know this day is coming, why wait until the last minute?! Grrrrr!!!!! You can say I LOVE YOU evey day, and should. Don't save it all up for one day! Sheesh!

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Mom!

Runny, stuffy, sneezy, OUCH!

It's cold outside.... really cold. Like highs in the 20's cold. Much below average for this time of year, and much too cold for me. I used to like winter more than any other season; but I'm more of a spring / autumn girl. I still have aversions to summer (at least a StL summer). Ugh. Spring and autumn for me.

It's cold inside, too. Colds in our noses, all three of us. AGAIN. We're all pumped full of fruit juice, water, and Dimetapp. At night, Michael and I indulge in a nightcap of Nyquil, and all three of us are slathered in Vick's Vapo-rub. I hate Vick's. HATE IT, but it works. And red, sore noses abound! Aloe and lotion type tissues only work for so long, and then ANYTHING on your nose hurts like heck...

On a different note, CONGRATULATIONS to Sarah and Chris B. on the birth of their little girl last week. You are no doubt experiencing the joy and wonder of a newborn.

Well, I think Sam and I are going down for a nap...BEFORE lunchtime. There's nothing like going back to bed on a cold day when you have a cold. Plenty of rest can only help, right? Next line of defence: chicken noodle soup for Sunday dinner!

Squirrels and "Bbrrrrm-brrruuummmmm!"

My daffodils and crocuses are beginning to poke their green leafy tips through the dirt, and its only mid-January!!!!! I suppose on average this winter has been mild. We've had near sixty degree days followed by blustery, icy, snowy ones. And today is in the upper forties, almost fifty, and my bulbs are confused. And I'm worried (again, like last year when this happened), because the temperatures are supposed to drop into the low twenties by this evening. I hope my plants are going to be okay... And now if the squirrels will stop digging them up! Argh!

But, since it is warmer than usual today, Sam and I played outside for a while before lunchtime. It has been a long time since he's been outside to play. We've gone outside and ran to the car, but not actually played. We broke out the Tonka dumptruck and he had a great time throwing sticks and pinecones and rocks into his truck. "Bbbbbrrrrm! bbbrrrrrmm-brrrm!" His truck sounds and giggles are a delight to hear, and to see my little boy running around in the sunshine gave me a great feeling of joy! And even saying that sounds to me like a vast understatement.... *sigh*

The little one is down for his nap, so I'm catching up on internet stuff. Sam likes to try to steal the mouse from me, and I like to not let him have it; to save on frustration on both sides, I save my computer stuff for his naptimes, or after Michael is home from work to "distract" our young lad. And I have maybe twenty minutes left until he is awake and ready for more fun.

Anyway, I really have no news... I've nearly finished the blanket I'm knitting for my soon-to-arrive neice, Olivia. I've made major advances in organizing our filing cabinet for the New Year (sticking to my resolutions). Same old stuff. No American Idol, or other TV shows, to speak of (don't really watch), except for ARTHUR on PBS and my usual cooking shows. Loving the deep-fryer we got from my mom for Christmas (healthy-eating resolution not doing the greatest). I've made falafel, fried mozzerella, and fried chicken. And Michael's favorite (Sam loves them too): ONION RINGS. I've also made doughnuts from scratch....it's not that difficult, but it IS slightly time consuming. But they are oh-so-tasty. Especially with a cup of hazelnut coffee! YUM!

I will have to start posting my favorite recipes here, so you all can try some of this food if and when you're interested....another day, perhaps. My time is up, and so is my boy. Aloha.

Starting The New Year Off RIGHT!

Happy New Year!

I have a great bit of news to share....my sister Stephanie is pregnant! She and Brian are expecting their little bundle of joy to arrive in late August or early September. Congrats to you two! You'll be awesome parents!

Also, my youngest sister, Andrea, is nearing her due date rapidly for her little Olivia Jane. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds!

I have made a few resolutions for the New Year:

1. Be more organized than last year (an on-going resolution for me)
2. Be more adventurous in my cooking, trying new recipes more frequently
3. Be more patient (the terrible-twos are upon me!!!)
4. Continue to keep in touch with friends and family (snail mail ahoy!)
5. Include more healthy foods and activities in my daily life

Our Christmas tree came down on New Year's Eve. It was drying out faster that we hoped, and Samuel managed to start pulling light strings off anyhow. We're still finding pine needles almost everywhere, even though we've vaccumed a few times since the tree went bye-bye. It is so annoying to step unknowingly on those, especially barefoot (which is often -- we don't wear shoes in the house). Hopefully any stray pine needles will be vacuumed or otherwise found within the next few days....

Another bit of good news, however odd: My company awarded me a prize for being passionate in my job. Our company's mission sttement has five key values: Passion, Urgency, Integrity, Standards, Focus. Twice a year, one employee is chosen as exemplifying one of the five key values. Store or corporate employees nominate candidates, and the "winners" are tallied. For the second half of 2006, I was voted for my PASSION in my work. I try to be as in to my job as I can possibly be. I mean, it IS only a grocery store service counter, but I do deal a lot with the public, money in varouis forms, and securtiy issues for the company....so it DOES matter quite a bit to me. Especially since I've been working here for nearly a decade.....(ugh, did I really just put that in writing?!) Apparently, others have taken notice, and voted for / nominated me for the award. Not too shabby!

We've been having a mild winter here in StL, aside from that ice storm we had that knock power out for most of the metro area. But now it is getting bitterly cold outside, and another potential ice storm is approaching for this weekend. Working in the grocery industry, the public has been incited to near-panic, buying huge quantities of firewood, canned soups and bread, milk, eggs, etc. We'll be busy, all of us here in the StL grocery industry. I understand folks want to be prepared for an emergency, but panic only feeds frustration and more panic. People just need to slow down and think things through, show common-courtesey to your neighbor, and calm down a smidge.

I've been working now for the past eight days straight.....and am feeling drained. I'm off work for the next two days, and plan to make big warm hearty meals for dinner and enough for leftovers. I've got a great recipe for Baked Potato Soup (tomorrow's dinner) and an EasyApple Cake for dessert (also tomorrow). Both can be found at the webpage for Penzey's Spices; just click on their link for recipes. I love Penzey's. They have a local shop, so I don't have to order through the catalogue, but the catalogues are very informative, and have recipes, too, which is why I continue to request its delivery.... Check them out!

It is time for me to get to some housework. And Sam needs a juice refill. I hope everyone's year is starting off on a positive note!